‘That’s amazing,’ I said, thinking with a pang how much Finn would love to hear that tale. ‘I’ll have to do another mural to tell that story.’
The men all laughed heartily, then one of them pulled out his phone, which had buzzed with a message.
‘Just arriving,’ he said to me in an undertone. I nodded.
‘Helen?’ I said. ‘I think there’s someone here to see you.’
I guided her towards the door, just as a woman with silver-streaked short hair, dark-rimmed glasses, and a gorgeous necklace walked in.
‘Julia,’ Helen gasped. ‘How did you …’
Julia laughed. ‘Someone called Stevie phoned me,’ she said. ‘Begged me to come over and “make amends before it was too late”.’
‘I did say that,’ I admitted.
Helen fixed me with a steely glare. ‘Before it’s too late?’ she said pretending – at least I hoped she was pretending – to be insulted. ‘I’ve got years left in me.’
‘Then make the most of them,’ I said. I watched as she and Julia embraced and, feeling a little teary and emotional, I went in search of some prosecco. With a glass in my hand, I stood at the edge of the room. Micah and Oz were talking to Kenny, who was animatedly demonstrating some sort of football move. I hoped he wouldn’t hurt himself – he wasn’t as steady on his feet as he thought he was. Joyce and Mr Yin were standing beside the windows, elegant as anything, sipping their drinks. Blessing and Vanessa were dressed in their best, looking gorgeous and laughing like drains, which was making everyone around them smile. Val was rushing around, rosy-cheeked, and looked happier than I’d seen her in months. It was perfect. I felt like everything was coming together.
But not quite.
Suddenly I wanted to see the mural and check it was all okay before I had to share it with the world. Well, maybe not the world but the mayor and the residents. I put my prosecco on a table and slipped out of the door and round the corner to the end gable.
The mural had been covered with a thick curtain, sort of like a changing room in a clothes shop, ready for the grand unveiling, but I wanted to see it before then. So I ducked underneath the fabric to look at it.
It was quiet in there with the material muffling the sounds of the cars swishing past on the road, and the laugher and chatter from the lounge. The light was dim but I could see enough. I stood there, breathing deeply and looked up at the mural.
I’d painted trees, like the ones that had given Tall Trees its name, on each side, framing the space. There were silhouettes of soldiers and airmen, and planes in the sky, and I’d included some poppies and nurses and doctors. I’d added an NHS rainbow as a nod to the difficulties of the last couple of years, too. And then right in the middle, I’d painted Elsie in her nurse’s uniform, holding the book in her arms. Slightly behind her, I’d added Harry. Handsome and proud in his RAF garb. Above them the sun shone and I’d twisted the words “You Are My Sunshine” into its rays.
In fact, if you looked closer you could see there were words all over the mural. In the blades of grass beneath the soldiers’ feet, in the petals of the poppies and on the leaves of the trees. There were hundreds of messages taken from Elsie’s book.
And finally, on the trunk of one of the trees, so it looked like an old-fashioned etching in the bark, I’d painted my own special message. I’d copied Finn’s small fish with the arrow pointing to its fin, drawn my little TV with the letter S on the screen, and then beneath them both I’d painted: “Sorry.”
Of course, none of that meant anything at all if Finn didn’t see it. But I still held out the hope that perhaps he’d go past one day on the bus or walk by and glance over and perhaps read the message I’d left for him. I would just have to wait.
‘I don’t know where she’s gone,’ a voice said on the other side of the curtain. It was Blessing. I froze, hoping she wouldn’t look behind the material. ‘She’s probably just in the loo or something. I will go and find her for you.’
I stayed very still and quiet as I heard her footsteps fade away. She was probably talking to one of the councillors, I thought. I’d have to go and do the networking bit in a minute. I couldn’t hide out here much longer. I’d wait a couple of minutes to make sure they’d gone inside and then follow.
But suddenly there was a tugging at the curtain and there was Finn.
‘Stevie!’ he said with genuine surprise. ‘I erm, I didn’t know you were here.’
‘I was just looking at the mural.’ I felt my cheeks flame. ‘Before the big unveiling.’
Finn looked up at the painting in awe. ‘It’s absolutely wonderful,’ he said. ‘You’ve done such a good job.’
He put his hand out and touched Elsie. ‘Here she is,’ he said. ‘Our girl.’
‘She moved to Ireland,’ I told him in a hurry, desperately wanting him to know everything. ‘She went to find her best friend’s family and pass on her dying message. And she stayed. Harry followed and they got married.’ Finn’s eyes widened and so did his smile.
‘They had a happy ending,’ he said.
‘Better than that.’ I bounced on my feet, glad I’d worn the trainers. ‘Grumpy Helen is Elsie’s daughter!’
Finn’s jaw dropped. ‘What on earth?’
‘She didn’t want us to read some of the messages,’ I said vaguely with a wave of my hand. ‘But it’s all sorted now. Her brothers are here too. They’re so proud of their mum.’
